A fast‑moving Ebola outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain has killed more than 80 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and reached the major city of Goma, prompting the World Health Organization to declare an international health emergency amid fears the real scale of the crisis is far larger than reported.
Professor Jean‑Jacques Muyembe, head of the National Institute of Biomedical Research, confirmed that the epicentre lies in the Mongbwalu health zone, with infections quickly moving to Bunia, Rwampara — and now Goma.
“The epicentre must be the Mongbwalu health zone… and yesterday… there was a case in Goma,” he said, describing a woman infected by her husband who died in Bunia.
Health officials warn that the outbreak is unfolding in a densely populated, conflict‑affected region, complicating containment.
“It is an epidemic that will spread very rapidly… there are many armed groups in this province. That is what will make managing this epidemic very, very, very complicated,” Muyembe added.
